Greiss Stands Tall In Huge 2-1 Win Over Manchester

Published on February 29, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Worcester Sharks News Release


WORCESTER - Behind 28 saves by Thomas Greiss and goals by Derek Joslin and Tom Cavanagh, the Worcester Sharks inched closer to the final Atlantic Division playoff spot with a thrilling 2-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs in front of 7,048 fans on Friday evening at the DCU Center.

The Sharks, wearing a special jersey in honor of the Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies that were held prior to the game, fell behind 1-0 but scored the final two goals to come away with the victory.

With Springfield falling to Albany, the Sharks are now only nine points behind the Falcons for the fourth and final playoff spot with four games in hand. Worcester stands five points behind Manchester for fifth.

In his return to Worcester from the San Jose Sharks, Greiss stopped 28 of 29 shots. For Manchester, former UMass All-American Jonathan Quick, making his first professional appearance in the state of Massachusetts, made 15 saves on 17 shots.

At 4:20 of the first period, Manchester had the game's first scoring chance. With Greiss out of the play after making a save, Craig Valette was in the right place at the right time when he deflected away a Monarchs opportunity that looked ticketed to slip inside the right post.

Jonathan Tremblay, playing in only his 13th game of the season, had one of his most meaningful fights at 9:05 of the first. He dropped the gloves with fellow heavyweight Paul Crosty at the blue line near the Sharks' bench. Within a second of referee Jeff Smith blowing the play dead, the Monarchs' Gabe Gauthier found the back of the net. The red goal light went on, but was clearly after the whistle, keeping the game scoreless.

Manchester held the 10-6 shot advantage heading into the first intermission.

At 9:54 of the second period, Tom Cavanagh was called for a five-minute high sticking major after bloodying a Monarchs player. After Greiss made numerous clutch saves, he couldn't stop a Jeff Likens shot as he scored his first of the season at 10:05. The shot came from between the two faceoff circles, beating Greiss stick side for the 1-0 lead. Patrik Hersley and Marc-Andrew Cliché were credited with the assists on the play.

Exactly two minutes after Cavanagh's penalty, Ashton Rome was called for hooking, giving Manchester a full two minutes of five-on-three hockey. The Sharks came up big with solid penalty killing and timely saves to keep the deficit at one. The best opportunity came when Hersley took a long shot and off the rebound, Lauri Tukonen found himself on the doorstep. Greiss shut the door both times and the Sharks killed off the rest of the penalty against the top power play unit in the league.

Worcester rode the momentum to a power play goal of its own. Peter Kanko was called for hooking at 16:30, giving the Sharks their third man advantage of the game. In his first true test, Quick made a number of spectacular saves on a flurry of shots. He couldn't cover the rebound while sprawled on the ice and the puck trickled out to Derek Joslin. Joslin fired a shot that beat Quick over his right shoulder to tie the score at one. Mike Iggulden and J.D. Forrest picked up the assists on the play.

Despite being outshot 10-5 in the second period and 20-11 through two, the Sharks went into the locker room tied at one.

After Tremblay got the crowd to its feet with another spirited bout, the Sharks capitalized on the added energy to take their first lead of the game. Forrest took a shot from the just inside the right point. The rising shot was redirected by Cavanagh inside the left post for his 14th of the season and second in as many games. Along with Forrest, Lukas Kaspar picked up the other assist on the play.

The Monarchs pulled Quick in hopes of a late rally, but Greiss continued to stand tall. Manchester held the final shot advantage, 29-17. For Worcester, it was its lowest shot output of the season.

Worcester travels to Albany on Saturday for the second time looking to avenge a one-goal loss to the River Rats in January. The weekend closes when the Sharks host Norfolk on Sunday in a rematch of the brawl from Feb. 15 down in Virginia. For more information on these and other promotions or to purchase tickets, call the Sharks offices at 508-929-0500 or visit sharksahl.com.

NOTES: Jonathan Tremblay and Paul Crosty had a spirited heavyweight bout at 9:05 of the first period. Each player got in some good shots before going to the ice ... The teams were scoreless after the first period, marking the first time in the season series (9 games) that no team scored after one stanza ... Derek Joslin's second period goal was his first goal since Jan. 21 at Springfield (15 games) ... On the goal, Mike Iggulden extended his point streak to three games and J.D. Forrest extended his streak to two ... Tremblay squared off with the Monarchs' other tough guy, Kevin Westgarth at 2:20 of the third period. The two exchanged quick punches before Westgarth took Tremblay to the ice ... With his third period goal, Tom Cavanagh extended his point streak to four games and goal streak to two games. Both tied season highs ... Forrest has had two straight multi pt games ... The 17 shots were the Sharks' lowest output of the season ... The final attendance figure was 7,048 ... Greiss had 28 saves on 29 shots for the Sharks while Quick made 15 stops on 17 shots for Manchester ... Power plays: Worcester: 1 for 3, Manchester 1 for 4 ... Niche Hospitality Group Three Stars: Mezcal 3rd Star: Likens (1g), Bocado 2nd Star: Cavanagh (GWG), Block 5 1st Star: Greiss (28 saves on 29 shots).

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American Hockey League Stories from February 29, 2008


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